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  12 novembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  US State Dept. approves UAE’s purchase of F-35 jets, MQ-9 drones

  By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department on Tuesday cleared a massive package of F-35 fighter jets and MQ-9 unmanned systems for the United Arab Emirates, making official a potential sale still opposed by many congressional Democrats. In a statement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the package, which comes with an estimated price tag of $23.37 billion, includes up to 50 F-35s worth $10.4 billion, 18 MQ-9Bs worth $2.97 billion, and $10 billion worth of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions. “This is in recognition of our deepening relationship and the UAE's need for advanced defense capabilities to deter and defend itself against heightened threats from Iran,” Pompeo said. “The UAE's historic agreement to normalize relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to positively transform the region's strategic landscape. Our adversaries, especially those in Iran, know this and will stop at nothing to disrupt this shared success.” “The proposed sale will make the UAE even more capable and interoperable with U.S. partners in a manner fully consistent with America's longstanding commitment to ensuring Israel's Qualitative Military Edge,” he added, referencing a U.S. legal standard that Israel maintain a military technological advantage over its neighbors. The sale was expected ever since the signing of peace agreements between Israel and the UAE. The administration previously informally notified Congress of the sale's details, with leading foreign policy Democrats signaling they would act to block it. Potential foreign military sales notified to Congress are not guaranteed to move forward, and the quantities and dollar figures can often change during final negotiations. But even getting this far is a big win for the UAE, which has long sought the stealthy F-35; it also represents a win for the Trump administration, which has made increasing U.S. weapon exports a key part of its economic platform. https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2020/11/10/uae-purchase-of-f-35-mq-9-officially-cleared-by-state-department/

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  15 janvier 2021 | International, Aérospatial

  L3Harris to build prototype satellite capable of tracking hypersonic weapons

  Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The Missile Defense Agency awarded L3Harris Technologies a $121 million contract to build a prototype satellite capable of tracking hypersonic weapons, the agency announced Jan. 14. Under the contract, L3Harris is tasked with building an on-orbit prototype demonstration for the agency's Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor, a proliferated constellation in low Earth orbit that is capable of detecting and tracking hypersonic weapons. The constellation is designed to fill the gap in the country's missile defense architecture created by hypersonic weapons, which are dimmer than traditional ballistic missiles, making them harder to see with the nation's infrared sensors based in geosynchronous orbit. In addition, they are able to maneuver around terrestrial sensors. With China and Russia developing these weapons, the Department of Defense is eager to develop a new constellation that can detect and track the threats anywhere in the world. And so is Congress — in December lawmakers set aside $130 million to fund the project. The HBTSS design solves the hypersonic weapon problem by placing the sensor much closer to the Earth's surface in the lower orbit, making it easier to see the threat. But because the sensors are closer to the Earth, they have a far more limited field of view than the sensors in geosynchronous orbit. In order to achieve global coverage, the Missile Defense Agency wants a proliferated constellation made up of dozens of satellites on orbit. L3Harris was one of four companies awarded $20 million contracts in 2019 to develop a prototype payload design and risk reduction demonstration for HBTSS, along with Northrop Grumman, Leidos and Raytheon Technologies. According to the initial contract announcements, work on those designs was due Oct. 31, 2020. With this most recent award, L3Harris has won the subsequent competition between the four companies to build the actual prototype. The company has also been selected to build satellites for the Space Development Agency that will track hypersonic threats and feed data to HBTSS. In October, L3Harris won a $193 million contract to build four of the agency's eight wide field of view (WFOV) satellites, with SpaceX building four more. According to Space Development Agency leaders, their satellites will work in conjunction with HBTSS satellites to track hypersonic threats. The WFOV satellites will provide initial detection and tracing of the weapons, passing custody from satellite to satellite as the threats traverse the globe. Then, the WFOV satellites will pass custody to the medium field of view HBTSS satellites, which can provide targeting solutions with their more accurate sensors. The WFOV satellites are scheduled for launch as early as September 2022. Work on the HBTSS prototype contract will be complete in July 2023. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2021/01/14/l3harris-to-build-prototype-satellite-capable-of-tracking-hypersonic-weapons

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  17 novembre 2020 | International, Terrestre

  Iron Dome batteries activated to fill cruise missile defense gap

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The Army has activated two air defense artillery batteries at Fort Bliss, Texas, that will evaluate the Iron Dome system for possible integration into the Army's air-and missile defense architecture, according to a Nov. 13 statement from the service. The Iron Dome batteries will serve as an interim capability to fill a cruise missile defense gap. The change was mandated by Congress while the Army determines a long-term solution to combat such threats in addition to countering rockets, artillery, mortars and drones. The Army took receipt of the first Iron Dome battery in Israel in October. The Fort Bliss-based units are expected to receive one Iron Dome system in December followed by the second in January. To stand up the two batteries, the Army is converting a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and realigning resources from the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School — which is a part of the Army's force realignment initiative — according to the statement. The move is expected to be complete by Nov. 16 and will result in 26 additional personnel at Fort Bliss. The Army chose Fort Bliss because of its proximity to White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, where the systems will be tested and evaluated. The units will spend the next year training, testing and working with the systems to prepare Iron Dome for operation deployment by late 2021. Part of the effort, according to the statement, will include integration of Iron Dome into the Army's Integrated Battle Command System, which is the command-and-control element of the service's future Integrated Air and Missile Defense architecture. The IBCS system is expected to reach a production decision this month and will undergo an initial operational test and evaluation in 2021. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor on the program. The Army plans to make a final stationing decision on where and how to employ the systems “through either a forward stationing decision and/or Dynamic Force Employment concept in response to contingency operations” when the batteries reach operational deployment capability, the statement notes. The service plans to hold a shoot-off to determine an enduring capability for its Indirect Fires Protection Capability Increment 2 system — designed to defend against C-RAM, UAS and cruise missile threats — in the spring of 2021. Elements of the Iron Dome system will be part of that shoot-off. Iron Dome has a long track record of operational success in Israel and is produced through a partnership with Israeli-based Rafael and Raytheon. Those companies are making plans to produce Iron Dome systems in the United States and are expected to pick a location for production by the end of the year. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/11/13/iron-dome-batteries-activated-to-fill-cruise-missile-defense-gap/